Washington Said YES to Affordable Groceries

Voters in Washington voted to prohibit any new local grocery taxes in the 2018 election.

Faced with the high cost of living, the most regressive tax structure in the country and the looming threat of taxation on their groceries, the people of Washington said “enough” to taxes that make it harder for them to live and work in their communities.

Supported by a broad coalition of more than 1,400 small businesses, labor unions, grocers, farmers and ranchers, I-1634 (the Keep Groceries Affordable Act of 2018) prohibits local government entities from imposing any new taxes on grocery items—closing a tax loophole that Seattle’s City Council exploited in 2018 with its unpopular beverage tax.

The cost of living is already high for people living paycheck to paycheck. The passage of Initiative 1634 means working families and seniors on fixed incomes in Washington won’t have to pay more for groceries too.

The passage of I-1634 “was a really clear indicator across the state of Washington that voters are tired of regressive taxes…and they spoke at the polls.”

– Pete Lamb, Teamsters Local 174

Washington NEWS
Dec 19, 2019

Majority of Washington voters support measure prohibiting future grocery taxes

Preliminary election results show a measure that would limit future taxes and Read More

Oct 29, 2019

Yes on I-1634: Soda taxes hurt working families

The editorial on I-1634 suggests local governments should decide how Read More

Nov 6, 2018

I-1634, a ban on local soda and grocery taxes, approved

Local governments looking for more tax money will have to look somewhere else Read More

Nov 5, 2018

Stop real threat to agriculture: yes on I-1634

The Olympian’s editorial on I-1634 is based on the presumption that the Read More